leisurely observation | Thinking Through My Lens

Back on Saturday at the SDAWP Spring Conference (I wrote a bit about it here. ), I attended a session called Seeing with Wonder: Cultivating a Deep Understanding and Appreciation for Nature Through a Creative Lens. The presenters, Wendy and Alice, encouraged us to slow down and participate in long and leisurely observation. During the session they asked us to adopt a tree–and since it wasn’t reasonable to be outside finding trees in the short time frame of the conference session, they had a collection of photos blown up, framed, and posted around the room.

I selected a moss-covered tree that reminded me of my time in Olympic National Park’s Hall of Mosses. I engaged in that leisurely observation, sketching and writing about the details I noticed. Wendy and Alice then led us through a different definition of Haiku. Instead of focusing on the 5-7-5 syllable structure, they gave us seven rules of Haiku. But most importantly, they encouraged us to compose a three line poem in the spirit of Haiku that was a single breath.